Leon's voice had the volume of a kitten's first meow.
Whenever it rains in Hammerlocke, it rains hard. Streetlights are blurred in the puddle's reflections. Cars kick up water as they drive past, returning to their homes, looking forward to warm blankets and soft pillows.
Raihan looks over to Leon. Plum hair is tied messily into a bun of Raihan's doing. Every time Leon comes over, Raihan messes with his hair and Leon never fixes it. He plays with his hair, purple strands pooling in his hands, as they talk about everything and anything until dawn breaks. They are so natural together, joined like puzzle pieces, and Raihan cherishes every moment he can have with Leon. Every bubbly laugh, every lingering touch, every single thing Leon allows him to get away with, allows Raihan to store deep within his heart.
Love only lets you take so much, so Raihan takes what he can have and refuses to let go.
"What did you say?"
Whenever it rains in Hammerlocke, it rains hard. Droplets crash against the street, the buildings, the umbrellas. It's loud, but not loud enough to mask Leon's words, no matter how soft they were. But Raihan pretends it does, anyway, because he wants to make Leon say it again, just to make sure, he has to make sure, please say it again.
"I said I love you, Rai."
It's two in the morning, which means there's no hat to cover Leon's eyes. They stare at Raihan, in all of their golden glory, warm like the streetlights below. They stare at him, shining with specks of embarrassment, flickers of hope, flashes of desire. Leon does not bear his heart on his sleeve, ever, but here he is, vulnerability at its peak, ready to be reinforced or to crumble with a single word.
Love only lets you take so much, and long ago Leon had taken all of Raihan's without even knowing it, and Raihan could only hope for the time he could take Leon's.
"You love me," Raihan exhales. There's much more to say - you love me, you love me, you love me and i love you and i love you so much - but they remain on his lips, nothing more than a shaky breath. All of the ways Raihan has dreamed of this moment - of this confession, of a kiss, of caresses and their bodies pressed together - have been nothing more than that. Dreams. Dreams tucked away whenever they held hands, whenever they hugged, whenever they would lie on the floor and Leon would rest his head on Raihan's chest and Raihan would fail to keep his heart from beating so fast. Whenever they stayed up late into the night like now, like this very moment where they stand on the balcony, listening to the sounds of the rain and of the bird Pokémon that still have not found shelter.
He has always loved the boy with honey eyes and amethyst hair, and he wonders how long the boy has loved him back.
"Yeah, I –"
Leon pauses and finally breaks away from Raihan's gaze. A faint pink, like the peonies in the garden across the street, is dusted across the bridge of Leon's nose and spreads out onto the rest of his face. He looks so beautiful, with the peony blush and violet hair and the shimmering amber eyes and the way his voice is so soft, reminiscent of a spring drizzle.
"Leon," Raihan says, and Leon looks at him and his heart flutters like a Butterfree and he wants to kiss him badly, to connect with him in the way the rain connects with the earth, to give him all of the love he has taken and withheld over the years.
"I love you, too. I always have."
There's a moment where another car drives by, a Corviknight cries out to its fellow birds, thunder rumbles in the distance and they remain in silence. Leon's parted lips shift into a warm smile and Raihan wants to feel that warmth on his own lips.
"I love you so much," they both say, and they can't help but laugh because leave it to them to stay something like that in unison. Their laughter is loud, louder than the thunder that grows closer, and a neighbor might chastise them but Raihan doesn't care. Their laughter is fueled by love and love gives as much as it takes and Raihan will give Leon everything he has.
When it rains in Hammerlocke, it rains hard and when Leon wraps his arms around Raihan and kisses him, he kisses hard. And when they part, Leon's eyes are a molten golden that melts Raihan down to his very core. Raihan pulls him into an embrace, burying his face in the crook of Leon's neck. He holds love tightly in his arms and he wants to hold it there forever.
It's raining hard in Hammerlocke but Raihan loves harder.
i started this at two am, finished it at three-something, and i was listening to lo-fi with a rain ambience and that's how this story was born.